The Chrysanthemum and the bat: The game Japanese play

by Robert Whiting

Good introduction to Japanese baseball and pointing out the cultural differences, strategies, and attitudes between the US and Japan within the shared game.

Genres: Baseball, Japan, Sports, Nonfiction, History

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Robert Whiting is a best-selling author and journalist who has written several successful books on contemporary Japanese culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W...


Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Trevor Raichura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is must-read material if you want to know anything about Japanese baseball in the 1970s and prior. Whiting's follow-up (You Gotta Have Wa) is better-written and (in my opinion) more thorough and accurate, but this reads the way an old documentary movie feels... not necessarily relevant in the present day but certainly illuminating about the past.

I should also say that I read this one back in 2015 and again this year, and it felt different - perhaps because I have so much more knowledge about Japanese baseball now than I did then. I have read a lot of secondary material (maybe primary, actually) in Japanese that has bolstered my knowledge of many of the people and situations covered in this book.

Highly recommended for those who want to know more about the history of Japanese baseball and do not want to just flip through YouTube videos that cover the subject without having actually been there. Whiting lived in Japan during many of the events he writes about, adding credibility to his reporting.

[Iris Bratton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting to see the cultural influence on a sport! I learned a lot and the narrative style was very entertaining. I wonder how much of this has changed in the last 40ish years...

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at the Japanese game during a period of change and upheaval, not too dissimilar to what MLB was experiencing at the same time: the challenges of maintaining tradition in the face of social change, the new, upcoming generation of ball players against the old guard, the import of foreign players and foreign teams.

Whiting follows Japanese baseball from the 50s to the late 70s, an exciting period for fans of the game as homerun king Sadaharu Oh was batting in his prime; Shigeo Nagashima was the second half of the feared O-N Cannon that led the Yomiuri Giants to unprecedented dominance during this time; the Orions and Dragons playing the first Japan Series without the Giants since 1964. Whiting also devotes considerable time to discussing the transformation of the Japanese game as MLB stars gradually made their way east. Some struggled, some excelled, many were mediocre.

For baseball fans, MLB or NPB, this is a great look at the game in a country that loves baseball as much or even as more as the Americans. Though somewhat dated now, Whiting's second and third books in this unofficial NPB trilogy continue the game's history and the story of MLB players in Japan up to Ichiro Suzuki's meteoric debut. Above all, this is a good introduction to NPB in perhaps its golden age.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fascinating book about Japanese professional baseball from its origin in the early 1950's through the mid 70's. Very funny at times. For me, the book's greatest value was in how the author was able to use the sport of baseball to contrast some of the essential differences between Japanese and American societies.

America encourages innovation, creativity, independence and individual excellence. Japan values conformity, upholding tradition and sacrificing individual needs in favor of the needs of the many.

For example, when an American pitcher becomes ineffective, he is given time off so that he can rest his arm. The concern is that the pitcher may be overworked and that pitching further would risk injuring his arm.

In Japan, at least up to the mid 70's, he was asked to work harder. Where American starting pitchers are usually given 4 days off between starts, the best Japanese pitchers are sometimes asked to start consecutive games - especially in important series - for the good of the team. One Japanese ace was asked to pitch in all seven games of a league championship series.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first of Whiting's many books about Japanese baseball, and a time capsule containing wonderful insights about 1970s Japanese culture. Some of this material would wind up in You Gotta Have Wa in significantly reworked form, but a lot of the material about 60s-70s gaijin players and the economic/cultural state of 60s-70s NPB can only be found here. Highly readable, highly recommended -- books on Japanese sport from a westerner who knows the language and culture are rare indeed.

[Ta0paipai · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Relatively few women attend games”
“Japanese fans are quiet, with moments of explosion”
“Japanese fans are educated in the nuances of the game”

There are many outdated ideas in the book, but it’s a good source to compare past and present and see how times have changed.

[Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to Japanese baseball and pointing out the cultural differences, strategies, and attitudes between the US and Japan within the shared game. I was less interested in the good side and bad side of the Americans that were signed to play in Japan (at least through 1975) and more interested in how the Japanese fans appreciate the game and how the players strive within the structure of teams and the sport itself.

The book is 40 years old and I had noticed some things that seem to have changed from how fans behave during games today. The home team fans are very raucous, but in a polite, Japanese way. They show support for the team by chants all during the time they are at bat and everyone in the stadium seems to know all the chants. It is quite a spectacle in itself. I would like to read an updated version of this book or something related that was more up-to-date.

[Spiros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Whiting wrote one of my all-time favorite baseball books, You Gotta Have Wa a brilliant look at baseball as practiced in Japan in the '70's and '80's. In this book, written in the '70's, he delves in depth into the history of Japanese baseball, which is great, but then he pretty much tries to hold up Japanese baseball to Major League Baseball as a superior institution, if not in quality of play, then in terms of ethics and spirituality: in so doing, he makes some strange claims about the Major League game, and ignores the differences in the development of the sport in the two countries.
Still, these reservations aside, this is a very valuable look at the history of the game in Japan.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Complete oversimplification of Japanese society and incredible misrepresentation of 'culture.' Very much a product of its time.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Ted for recommending this book to me. I learned a great deal about Japanese baseball.